Six Steps To a successful Holiday Email Campaigns

September 3, 2010 by Tim
Filed under: Email Lists

September could be the busiest month of the year for email

Marketers because it’s usually when they begin planning their holiday email campaigns. How big the email
list volume and how many responses do you need to meet objectives? Which days should they send their holiday messages?

What should the offer will be and how will this beat our control package.

The following are six best practices outlined in the report, designed to help retailers and other B-to-C email marketers have a successful holiday season this year:

1. Review last year’s holiday campaigns. In preparing for the holiday email season to come, examine what happened during your 2009 and how can we improve response.
Ask yourself the following:

* Which of my email campaigns generated the highest conversions? On what days were they sent? What were the emails about and what were the subject lines?
* Which campaigns generated the lowest conversions? On what days were they sent?
* Which segmentation tactics were most successful?
* Which campaigns were forwarded and shared the most? What about those campaigns made them so viral?
* Which campaigns generated the highest unsubscribe rates? The highest spam complaints? Why was that?
* Did you have to send any apology emails? If so, why? Have steps been taken to fix the problems?

2. Start Christmas campaigns early. On average, retailers began their 2009 holiday campaigns 67 days before Christmas (Oct. 19), according to the report. This is on par with the 2008 holiday season, but it’s nine days earlier than the 2007 holiday season. Last year’s soft economy and the precedent set in the 2008 holiday season was likely behind the earlier start. With a slowly recovering economy, retailers may begin their holiday campaigns a bit later this year, the report says.

Clean your lists by asking customers for their preferences:

* Ask subscribers directly to update their preferences, or make the link to your preference center more prominent by moving it above the fold.
* Ask subscribers to complete a survey about your email program.
* Try a delayed reward program designed to bring customers back during the holiday season.
* If you have a private-label credit card, loyalty program or member-based shipping program, promote it in advance of the holiday season.

4. Increase holiday email frequencies. If that logic appeals to you, then send on the days just before or after these high-volume days, the report advises. Also, the report recommends targeting brand loyalists with a “daily deal” email series or a “X Days of Christmas” campaign that requires an additional opt-in.

5. Stand out among inbox clutter. With the increase in volume pouring into subscribers’ inboxes, it’s critical to stand out with not only relevant content, big deals and helpful advice, but also with compelling subject lines, eye-catching creative and effective designs. To do this, the report offers the following suggestions:

* craft better subject lines;
* introduce a holiday header and navigation bar;
* add a gift services footer;
* use animated gifs more frequently; and
* leverage social sharing.

6. Change strategies over time. To maximize your holiday email revenues, adjust your strategies throughout the season, the report recommends. There are 18 phases to the holiday email season, according to the report, including Christmas in July; early holiday messaging; core holiday messaging; Thanksgiving Day sales; Black Friday sales; Cyber Monday campaigns; X Days of Christmas campaigns; the end of express shipping and guaranteed Christmas delivery; and so on.

DYMO Label Writer Twin Turbo The perfect printer for any small business! See why people rave about this direct mail marketing printer and why you can’t survive without it!

About The Author

Tim G. Little has a BS in Business Administration, and has worked in the magazine publication and circulation management for the past 20 years. As an Internet Publisher and Entrepreneur, he has developed a website to help small business entrepreneurs find the best mailing list and marketing programs ps: I would like to recommend a tool to you to help find Boost Sales… Gain Market Share.. . With Focused List Selection, Tips and Tools for Finding the Perfect List. Once you e-mail segments, track how they differently they react to messaging options

Link to this page